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Audio Recording Conversation with Lester and Ruth Johnson at Johnson's Cafe, St. Mary, Montana, part 3

Lester Johnson, conversation

About this Item

Title

  • Conversation with Lester and Ruth Johnson at Johnson's Cafe, St. Mary, Montana, part 3

Names

  • Johnson, Paula J., 1954- (Collector)
  • Toelken, Barre, 1935- (Collector)
  • Johnson, Lester (Interviewee)

Created / Published

  • Saint Mary, Montana, September 3, 1979

Headings

  • -  Marriage customs and rites
  • -  Wit and humor
  • -  Food habits
  • -  Rodeos
  • -  Copper mines and mining
  • -  Frontier and pioneer life
  • -  Folklore
  • -  Restaurants
  • -  Bears
  • -  Ethnography
  • -  Field recordings
  • -  Interviews
  • -  Sound recordings
  • -  United States -- Montana -- St. Mary

Genre

  • Ethnography
  • Field recordings
  • Interviews
  • Sound recordings

Notes

  • -  Index data: Part 3 of a 4-part interview with Lester Johnson at Johnson's Cafe (with motel and campground), St. Mary, MT; the fieldworkers' notes state that the recording started with two channels but that ambient sounds were a problem and one of the channels was soon turned off to reduce the unwanted noise: Johnson tells how his wife Ruth once lived with someone who had loud dogs to protect a [moonshine] still and warn of approach of strangers; about liquor smuggled in from Canada during Prohibition, the Bootlegger Trail, north of Great Falls; the fieldworker's notes state that Ruth is telling stories at another table but was too shy to do it in front of a microphone; when Lester's grandfather was a boy, you bought a block of salt and block of pig iron to get ready for the winter, people did their own metal work; work was traded for other work; background on Johnson's family, his father and mother homesteaded and had kids all across the country; about multiple homesteads by same person (includes the Mondales); about Swedish foods, none not that Johnson can remember; how frybread (Native American food) is a family tradition for the Johnsons; Johnson's mother made one-dish meals, small ranch, small income during Depression; his parents were good providers nonetheless; had a good garden, plenty of canned goods, "just because mom was such a good provider"; about gardens and pests (bugs); about raising cattle then and now (problems with cattle) , with bears in the vicinity; how he got in trouble for shooting one; adopts the "Triple S"policy: shoot, shovel and shut up; about disposal of bears by Glacier National Park rangers (old rangers vs. new rangers); how tourists ask: "where can you see a bear?" Lester has two places he recommends; anecdotes about Ruth in Butte (according to Lester), describes Ruth and brother and sister cutting heads off chickens; Ruth kills enough rattlesnakes to fill a cigar box with rattles; about waxed potatoes (start of story, continued in part 4), used for centerpieces; boys ate them, not wanting to "turn their nose up" at food on the table.

Medium

  • 7-inch reel

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Call number: AFC 1981/005: AFS 20469
  • MBRS shelflist: RXA 0955
  • Field project identifier: MT9-BT/PJ-R12

Source Collection

  • Montana Folklife Survey collection (AFC 1981/005)

Repository

  • American Folklife Center

Digital Id

Online Format

  • audio

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that some of the materials in this collection are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions, and are therefore free to use or reuse. For example, the fieldwork in this collection is in the public domain in the United States.

However, the Library has obtained permission for the use of other materials, and presents additional materials for educational and research purposes in accordance with fair use under United States copyright law. For example, some of the recordings contain copyrighted music, and not all of the performers and other individuals who were recorded signed releases for public use of their work.

In addition, the American Folklife Center and the professional fieldworkers who carry out these projects feel a strong ethical responsibility to the people they have visited and who have consented to have their lives documented for the historical record. The Center asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here. Researchers are also reminded that privacy and publicity rights may pertain to certain uses of this material.

Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these collection materials should contact the Folklife Reading Room for assistance. Rights assessment is your responsibility. The written permission of the copyright owners in materials not in the public domain is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions. Permissions may additionally be required from holders of other rights (such as publicity and/or privacy rights). Whenever possible, we provide information that we have about copyright owners and related matters in the catalog records, finding aids and other texts that accompany collections. However, the information we have may not be accurate or complete.

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Credit line: Montana Folklife Survey collection (AFC 1981/005), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Johnson, Paula J, Barre Toelken, and Lester Johnson. Conversation with Lester and Ruth Johnson at Johnson's Cafe, St. Mary, Montana, part 3. Saint Mary, Montana, September 3, 1979. Audio. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/afc1981005_afs20469/.

APA citation style:

Johnson, P. J., Toelken, B. & Johnson, L. (1979) Conversation with Lester and Ruth Johnson at Johnson's Cafe, St. Mary, Montana, part 3. Saint Mary, Montana, September 3. [Audio] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/afc1981005_afs20469/.

MLA citation style:

Johnson, Paula J, Barre Toelken, and Lester Johnson. Conversation with Lester and Ruth Johnson at Johnson's Cafe, St. Mary, Montana, part 3. Saint Mary, Montana, September 3, 1979. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/afc1981005_afs20469/>.